1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bottling plant and method of operating a bottling plant and a bottling plant with sections for stabilizing bottled products in containers.
2. Background Information
In the beverage industry, in particular when products being bottled are easily perishable, it is common practice to heat-stabilize the products. In bottling plants of the known art, the containers that contain the products are transported in a practically uniform movement from the entry of the plant to the exit from the plant. As they move through the plant, they are heated until they have achieved the required degree of heat-stabilization and are then cooled, whereupon the heat-stabilizing process is completed. A heat-stabilizing tunnel provided for this purpose consequently has a heating section, a superheating and heat-stabilizing section, and a final cooling section. The individual sections can have additional sub-zones. The gradual heating and cooling that such an arrangement provides is preferred, in particular for the glass bottles used in the beverage industry, to prevent any destruction of the glass bottles caused by abrupt temperature changes. The transmission of heat to the product in the containers normally occurs by spraying these containers with water as they are advanced on a conveyor belt which allows the liquid to be sprayed from underneath. Underneath the conveyor belt are catch basins for the sprayed liquid from which the pumps for the spraying are fed. Heat can be exchanged by means of the spray liquid zone-wise between the zones to be heated and the zones to be cooled.
This invention further provides a pasteurization unit for the pasteurization of products in containers in a flow of containers through successive sections at least for heating, pasteurizing and cooling by means of fluid covering them, or fluid being passed over them such as by trickling or spraying, with a pasteurizer housing and spray devices located inside it.
Thus, in the beverage industry, it is conventional to pasteurize beverages, especially when the beverages in question are highly perishable. In pasteurization plants of the prior art, the containers with the products are transported in an essentially uniform movement from the entrance area to the exit area. During this movement they are heated until they have absorbed the desired pasteurization units and are then cooled, which completes the pasteurization process. A pasteurization tunnel provided for this purpose therefore has a warming, or heating or heating-up, section, a superheating and pasteurization section and a final cooling section. The individual sections can in turn be further divided into sub-zones. The gradual heating and cooling such a system achieves is preferred, especially for the glass bottles used in the beverage industry, to prevent the destruction of the glass bottles as a result of abrupt changes in temperature. The transfer of heat to the product in the containers is normally achieved by spraying these containers with water as they move forward on a conveyor belt which allows the sprayed liquid to drain off underneath. Underneath the conveyor belt there are collection containers for the sprayed liquid from which the spray pumps are fed. The sprayed liquid can also be used to exchange heat between individual zones of the sections that require heating and those that require cooling.
To achieve an optimal graduation of the temperatures in the individual sections, these sections are in turn subdivided into smaller zones. Generally the xe2x80x9cwarming.xe2x80x9d section has three to four individual zones and the pasteurization section has two or three zones, whereby an additional superheating zone can be provided upstream of the pasteurization zone. The subsequent downstream xe2x80x9ccoolingxe2x80x9d section in turn has three to four individual zones in which the containers are cooled to the desired exit temperature by gradually decreasing the temperature of the sprayed liquid.
The individual spray temperatures must be adapted as a function of the product, the length of the zones and the speed of the conveyor belt, to ensure that the product in the containers reaches the specified degree of pasteurization.
To spray the containers, there are a plurality of spray pipes that are located in the pasteurization housing at right angles to the transport direction and at some distance from one another with spray nozzles or spray openings and a liquid supply line located on the side. Spray pipes of this type are described in German Utility Model No. 29 716 644 U1, for example. German Utility Model No. 29 716 644 U1 and its corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,097, issued to Klenk on Feb. 13, 2001 and entitled, xe2x80x9cDevice for spraying liquids onto containers,xe2x80x9d are hereby incorporated by reference as if set forth in their entirety herein. Spray pipes of this type must be cleaned at regular intervals to ensure uniform spraying. Depending on the location and arrangement of such spray pipes, the spray nozzles that are located in the middle of a unit are barely visible, so that it is frequently necessary to completely remove the spray pipes to inspect them.
One object of the present invention may be to propose a method for the operation of such a bottling plant in which the response to disruptions in the container flow can be managed in an essentially optimum fashion with an essentially minimized utilization of the resources water and heat.
Another object comprises to propose a pasteurization plant that minimizes the time, effort and expense of cleaning while making possible the easy inspection and cleaning of such spraying devices.
The invention teaches a bottling plant for bottling beverages, said bottling plant comprising: a bottle rinsing section for rinsing bottles; a bottle filling section to receive bottles for filling; a bottle capping section for capping bottles; a product stabilizing section for stabilizing the content of the bottles; said product stabilizing section comprising: a plurality of spray arrangements, each of said plurality of spray arrangements being configured and disposed to spray liquid over at least one bottle; a plurality of tank arrangements configured to receive liquid from said plurality of tanks and to supply liquid to said plurality of tanks; an arrangement interconnecting said plurality of spray arrangements, said plurality of tanks, and said plurality of tank arrangements among one another to adjust characteristics and flow of liquid circulating in said product stabilizing section in response to interruptions of movement of bottles in said product stabilizing section; a housing; said housing comprising a roof, an inlet for the containers, and an outlet for the containers; said roof of said housing comprising in combination the roof for said housing and said plurality of spray arrangements; a first portion configured to heat the product in containers by a first heated spray of liquid, said first spray of liquid comprising a predetermined first temperature to bring the product in containers to a temperature below the pasteurization temperature; a second portion configured to pasteurize the product in containers by a second spray of liquid, said second spray of liquid comprising a predetermined second temperature to impart to the product in containers a predetermined unit of pasteurization; a third portion configured to cool the product in containers by a third spray of liquid, said third spray of liquid comprising a temperature to bring the product in containers to a temperature below said first temperature; said second portion succeeding said first portion; said third portion succeeding said second portion; and apparatus to move the containers in succession from said inlet to said outlet in a flow of containers through the successive portions, at least for heating, pasteurizing and cooling by way of respective sprays of fluid which sprays cover them with respective sprays of liquid.
The invention teaches that the roof of the pasteurization unit is realized in the form of a sprayer roof, and thereby forms the roof and the spraying devices simultaneously.
In other words, the invention teaches that the roof of the pasteurization unit is realized in the form of a sprayer roof, or cover and thereby forms the roof or cover and the spraying devices simultaneously or in combination thereof.
The invention also teaches an independent realization in which the roof is realized in the form of shaped spray channels that are located next to one another.
The dependent claims teach additional characteristics of the invention.
The configuration claimed by the invention makes possible an easy and reliable inspection and verification of the effectiveness and contamination of such spray nozzles or spray openings. Simply by opening the upper part, the entire spray tank becomes immediately visible and can be cleaned directly using simple means. That makes it possible to do without, among other things, the conventional roof construction, so that in addition to the above-mentioned advantages, the construction can be significantly lighter in weight and more economical.
Embodiments of the present invention discussed herein will be described further herein with reference to the accompanying figures. When the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d is used in this specification, the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d includes xe2x80x9cinventionsxe2x80x9d, that is, the plural of xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d. By stating xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d, the Applicants do not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintain that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. The applicants hereby assert that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.